HB 629

GLOBAL POSITIONIN G MONITORING SYSTEM DEVICE When a child alleged to be delinquent or unruly is brought before a court, present law authorizes the court to notify a probation officer attached to the court or any such person, persons , or agencies available to the court, or to the department of children's services . Such notified party must accomplish certain duties set out by law. I f the court appoints such a person or entity , the n this bill authorizes the court to order the child to wear a global positioning monitoring sy stem device and order the entity that operates the global positioning monitoring system to notify the appointed person or entity if the child violates the instructions issued by the court upon release. MANDATORY COUNSELING Present law provides that it is the legislative intent that if a rule or policy is designated as a zero tolerance policy in schools , then violations of that rule or policy must not be tolerated and violators must receive certain, swift, and proportionate punishment. I f a student is expelled for committing a zero tolerance offense for threatening mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity, then this bill requires all of the following to occur:  The director of schools or the head of the public charter school must require the student to undergo counseling and a mental health evaluation to determine whether the student is a threat to themselves or to others before the student may return to school, regardless of whether the student has completed the term of the student's expulsion.  The mental health evaluation must be conducted on an outpatient basis by a mental health agency or a licensed private practitioner designated by the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services. The evaluator must report its findings to the director of schools or the head of the public charter school. A report is confidential and must not be shared with others, except as may otherwise be required by law.  The costs of the counseling and mental health evaluation must be borne by the student's parents or the student, if the student is 18 or older.